Soledad O'Brien and Christiane Amanpour arrive for the News and Documentary Emmy Awards in New York

Soledad O'Brien and Christiane Amanpour arrive in the press room with their Emmy at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards at Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York on September 21, 2009. UPI/Laura Cavanaugh

Christiane Amanpour, CBE (English pronunciation: /krɪstʃiˈɑːn ɑːmənˈpʊər/ ( listen); Persian: کریستین امان‌پور; born January 12, 1958) is anchor of ABC News's This Week and formerly chief international correspondent at CNN, where she worked for 27 years. She is a Board Member at the IWMF (International Women's Media Foundation).

Amanpour was born in Tehran, Iran, according to some sources and in London, England, according to others. Amanpour was born to her Iranian father Mohammad, an airline executive, and her British mother, Patricia. In Iran, the Amanpour family led a privileged life under the government of the Shah of Iran. Amanpour completed her primary education in Iran, and at the age of 11, she was sent by her parents to boarding school in England. She attended New Hall School, an all-girls educational setting located in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Christiane returned to England not long after the Islamic Revolution began. She has stressed that they were not forced to leave the country, but were actually returning to England when Iraq invaded Iran. The family remained in England, finding it was too difficult to return to Iran.

After her graduation from New Hall, Amanpour moved to the United States to study journalism at the University of Rhode Island. During her time there, she worked in the news department at WBRU-FM in Providence, Rhode Island. She also worked for NBC affiliate WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island, as an electronic graphics designer. In 1983, Amanpour graduated from the university summa cum laude with a bachelor of journalism degree.

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